Rangers Draft Catcher Malcolm Moore with 30th Pick

By Nate Miller

Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images

July 14, 2024

FORT WORTH, Tex. (Jul 14) — The Texas Rangers have their future backstop. They have selected Malcolm Moore with the 30th pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft. It was a long night on Sunday for the defending World Champions, as they had to wait until the end of the night to send in their ticket. Moore certainly has some big shoes to fill as he follows in the footsteps of Ivan Rodriguez and Jonah Heim and others behind the plate. A sophomore in 2024 for Stanford, Malcolm Moore has remaining eligibility and could return to college if he opts not to sign. Otherwise, he’ll begin his climb up through the Rangers’ system after putting pen to paper on a professional contract.

A Lot of Free Passes

Playing behind the plate for Stanford, Moore is a very good defender with a plus bat. He hit for a .288 average in two seasons at Stanford, playing in 118 games. Moore’s average and power dipped slightly with 12 fewer doubles in 2024 as he played in 10 fewer games. He did, however, get more free passes, struck out less and actually hit one more home run to have 31 through two seasons with the Cardinal.

Moore also improved his ability to defend the base paths from behind home plate, throwing out 22 of 51 runners attempting to steal second base on him this season. Malcolm Moore, who hits from the left side of the plate, was considered among the top hitting prospects out of high school in the 2022 draft when he opted to go to Stanford. His MLB.com scouting report lays out the belief in Moore to crack into that hitting potential as a major league catcher.

Scouting Report

“There is still confidence that Moore will hit at the next level,” his scouting report said. “He makes a lot of hard contact to all fields and has easily plus raw power he showed he can tap into. He hit 15 home runs as a freshman. He’s shown he can have an advanced approach at the plate. This includes doing damage with two strikes, though he wore out catching every day in his first year of college. While his surface numbers were down for much of his sophomore season, he still had elite chase rates and swing-and-miss rates in the zone.” Moore, who is the No. 26 overall prospect in the draft according to MLB.com, would potentially be even more sought-after if he had a bit more defensive upside.